February, 2010

Lisa and I were visiting our friends Carol and Bill at their place on Spanish Cay, just north of Abaco Island in the Bahamas.  Bill’s friend Gary had an Ocean Kayak XL double sit-upon kayak hanging in his shed that he was gracious enough to let me borrow.  The boat could be paddled as either a double or a single, using a third middle seat.  The boat was very basic, without seat backs or rudder.  Never the less, I was very happy to have it. 

As with most of our two months in Florida, cold and high winds ruled our time in the islands.  As a result, it was several days before I could

launch the boat.  It was usually calmer in the morning, but with the tide out it was too shallow to launch. So I headed out on three different occasions at noon or later. 

The first paddle led me around the shallow bay in front of the house.  I noticed dozens of conch and several starfish.  I headed out into the lagoon that was protected by a reef a mile or so off shore.  Waves from the heavy wind were crashing hard on the reef.  There was still a substantial swell within the lagoon that tossed me around on the unfamiliar boat.  The boat was nothing if not stable, but there was no way to lock myself into the craft and it paddled a bit like a big pontoon. 

Heading east, I soon came upon a wave raked opening into the south bay.  After watching for a while, I timed my entrance over the rocks and into the bay without bottoming out.  I paddled east then south along the shore of the bay formed by Spanish and Goat Cay.  I spotted more conch and starfish, and a variety of fish including Trigger Fish and Barracuda.  Rather than trying to paddle back through the opening and risk capsize, I decided to paddle around the outside of Goat Cay, into the waves and wind. 

It took a while to get back.  When I arrived in the bay in front of the house, the tide was about half way out.  Soon I bottomed out and had to get into the water.  I stepped into a bed of quicksand and was soon in past my knees.  I was so surprised I wasn’t sure what to do.  Lying across the boat, I slowly worked one leg, then the other free.  Then using my paddle as a probe, I slowly worked my way toward shore.  That ended my first paddle! 

Next day I tried again.  This time the wind was blowing just as hard as the day before.  The sky was filled with clouds.  I again headed out of my home bay, this time heading west along the shore toward the airstrip and safe harbor.  I paddled past the abandoned raw bar and into the deep bay beyond.  All the while the wind was at my back and I could feel it building while the clouds came together in one solid darkening mass. 

As I paddled along the airstrip I noticed that the beach would soon disappear into a jagged mass of limestone.  I decided it would be wise to land and evaluate the weather.  I landed easily and turned to feel the full effect of the building wind on my face.  The clouds were now thick and dark.  The weather looked threatening.  I had three choices.  I could continue on to the safe harbor, knowing I would probably have to pull out there and walk back.  I could head back and hope to beat whatever was coming.  Or I could leave the boat where it was and come back for it later.  It wasn’t that far back to the home bay, so I decided to head back, paddling into the wind and waves.   The boat was more barge like than ever, making progress slow.  But, soon I was back, ending another Bahamian paddle.

The third paddle was much like the first.  I paddled the right side of the home bay, then headed out to South Bay again.  This time, the wind was much less, but there was a substantial swell left over from the several days of high winds.  This time I went to the second entrance (I hadn’t seen

it on the first trip) as the tide was lower.  I timed my approach and surfed in on a big swell.  I poked around the shallow water on the Spanish Cay side, finding Trigger Fish and Barracuda, conch and starfish.  Then I paddled over to Goat Cay and pulled ashore on the only beach visible at that time.  At low tide, you can actually wade from Spanish to

Goat, with many more beaches visible.  I poked around, exploring and taking photos before getting back on the kayak and paddling out through the big swells for the trip back.

Knowing this was probably my last opportunity to paddle here, I paddled slowly close to shore on the opposite shore of the home bay.  I disturbed a big ray in shallow water and spent some time playing tag with him before reluctantly heading to shore.